“I don’t see any L’s, just growth” – Tony Ferguson on his harsh UFC 279 loss
After a baffling and historical fight week for UFC 279, the smoke is settling. Originally slated to give us Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz, a weight miss by ‘Borz’ would see Diaz, and none other than Tony Ferguson throw down in the cage for UFC 279’s main event.
The first round started off at a solid pace, with each fighter landing a few good shots as they felt each other out. A wild spinning elbow by Tony Ferguson was mere inches away from landing in devastating fashion the first minute of the bout, however, Diaz got out of harms way and the fight proceeded.
A big, gushing wound opened up on Ferguson’s shin soon after, but ‘El Cucuy‘ continued on undisturbed. The boxing of Diaz was in full effect, with ‘Mr. 209’ mixing in his patented combos of strange looping stockton slaps and hooks, and straight laser-like jabs and crosses.
As the rounds progressed, both fighters could be seen getting frustrated at one another’s odd fighting style. It was almost ironic that while the matchup of Diaz vs Ferguson was arguably more compelling and competitive than that of Diaz vs Chimaev, it was also harder to prepare for on such a short-notice.
Even with a full camp, solving the strange enigma that is the weird fighting styles of Diaz and Ferguson respectively would be no small task. So, it should not be surprising that the unconventional ways of both men threw each other off during the fight.
An end to an era, and Tony Ferguson’s post-fight presser: “Im still on top of the mountain”
Although his corner kept imploring him to go for a takedown, it would actually spell doom for ‘El Cucuy’. In the fourth round he’d be caught in a guillotine choke, and inevitably tap. It was the end of an era for Nate Diaz, and for Tony Ferguson, it would go down as his fifth consecutive loss in a row.
At the UFC’s post-fight press conference, Tony Ferguson would address the losing streak:
“Im still at the top of the mountain,” he began. “Are you glad sports are back on in the world? Well say thank you then. You’re fu*king welcome.“
“When it comes down to an L (a loss),” Ferguson continued. “It has to go into whats been put on the table (fights offered). Putting sports back on in the world, setting an example for these youngsters to not quit. To go in there and not give a sh*t and take the next fight that’s on the wind.”
“Im gonna be real, I don’t see any L’s, I just see growth. The last four fights that I had before this one, I’m gonna be real, I was sandbagging. I wasn’t really doing anything. My wife called me out. I found a good team, the most motley crew of people we could’ve put together and we made some noise.”
What’s next for Tony Ferguson?
